22 The Musk-ox 



what tucked up as to stomach, due to three days' 

 hard travel on only tea, I was in fine physical con- 

 dition, and up to making the effort of my life. 



By the time I had run about two miles I had 

 caught the last of the Indians, who were stretched 

 out in a long column, with two leading by half a 

 mile. Within another mile I had passed all the 

 stragglers, and was running practically even with 

 the second Indian, who was two or three hun- 

 dred yards behind the leading one. This Indian, 

 Seco by name, was one of the best snow-shoe 

 runners I ever encountered. He gave evidence 

 of his endurance and speed on many another 

 occasion than this one, for always there was a run 

 of four miles or more after every musk-ox herd 

 we sighted, and invariably a foot-race between 

 Seco and me preceded final leadership. I may 

 add incidentally that he always beat me, although 

 we made some close finishes during the fifty- 

 seven days we roamed this God-forgotten bit of 

 the earth. 



On this particular day, though I passed the 

 second Indian, Seco kept well in the lead, with 

 practically all the dogs just ahead of him. It 

 was the roughest going I had ever experienced, 

 for the course lay over a succession of low but 



